Miss Hillwood
by shieldmaiden5678
Summary: It's the summer after their freshman year of college, and Helga and Arnold are now on opposite ends of the world. Helga has been coerced into participating in the local pageant while Arnold is helping his parents in San Lorenzo. The seemingly ridiculous pageant becomes one of the best nights of Helga's life. One shot.


Helga leaned back in her chair with her feet propped up in an angled fashion upon the wooden desk in her room. The light from outside cast a slight glare on the laptop screen, which currently showed Helga's desktop with Skype open. Her eyes stared unblinking at her contacts list as she rapped her fingers on her desk impatiently. "Come on, where are you?" she muttered under her breath. A high pitched sound followed quickly by a tonal ringing emanated from her laptop speakers causing her to nearly fall forward in her chair in excitement. Flashing up on her screen was a photo of her beloved with a green "Call Accept" and red "Call Deny" button beneath. Immediately she clicked on the green button and after a brief buffering period, was greeted by the calm smiling face of Arnold.

"Arnold!" she exclaimed with a grin.

"Hey, Helga!" Arnold replied through a chuckle. "Miss me?"

"Heh, maybe a little. It's not like I spend every day thinking about you." She gave him a meek smile as she fussed with her ponytail. "How are things down in the jungle?"

"Really great! We've been helping the local villagers develop a more sophisticated irrigation system for their crops. Plus it's always nice to spend time with mom and dad." His face lit up as he said this for he still hadn't gotten used to referring to his parents in normal conversation. Ever since he had been reunited with them on an adventurous journey in the San Lorenzo jungles around his tenth birthday, Arnold had returned to San Lorenzo every summer with his parents to help the local villagers as well as the Green Eyed people. It had been wonderful for Helga to be a part of their reunion, but each summer for her was tortuous as she would always feel incredibly alone without him. Especially now that they had been dating for the last three years after one amazing night at the homecoming dance their sophomore year made everything come together at long last.

Arnold continued to go on about all that he had been doing in San Lorenzo, from his parents' continued research in botanical medicine to nearly getting caught by an anaconda while swimming in the nearby river. "You have GOT to be careful, Arnold!" Helga gasped out once she had caught her breath. "You could have been crushed and eaten by that snake! Criminy, then I'd have to bring you back to life and pound you myself for leaving me!" A loud thud was heard from Arnold's end as he disappeared from view. The next thing Helga knew, she heard loud, raucous laughter coming from him. She let out a groan realizing that he had fallen to the ground and was now rolling around cackling.

Upon regaining composure and getting back in his chair, Arnold was greeted by a very disgruntled looking Helga, complete with raised eyebrow and crossed arms. "I'm serious, football head. Be careful."

"Of course I will be, Helga! You've gotta admit though, it is pretty hilarious that even after all these years you still want to beat me up."

"Never gonna change, bucko! If you were here now, I'd give you a punch right on the arm for scaring me like that." She smirked as she punched the air next to her. Arnold grimaced and rubbed his arm, causing Helga to laugh.

"All right, enough from me. How about you? What've you been up to in the past two weeks since I've been gone?" Arnold's face took on that half lidded gaze that Helga loved so much.

She let out a sigh then said, "Not much. I mean I've been trying to find a job since we finished our first year at Hillwood University last month, but no luck so far."

"I'm sure someone will hire you eventually. You're Helga G. Pataki, one amazing person!"

"Heh, thanks," she said, feeling her cheeks grow warm from her obvious blushing. "There's something else, too." Arnold nodded for her to continue. "I'm in the Miss Hillwood pageant."

Arnold's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "You're…what?"

"In the Miss Hillwood pageant."

"Wow." Arnold stated, still clearly in shock. "What made you want to enter that? Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just…not like you to want to be a part of something like that. I mean you did refer to it once as a froo froo hoity toity girly parade that was a sad representation of the female gender."

"Wasn't really my choice," Helga grumbled. "You know my dad's paying for my college, right?"

"Yea…oh I think I see where this is going." Arnold frowned as realization dawned upon him.

"It was his brilliant idea that I enter this competition with his store as sponsor, that way he can increase his advertising and if I win, really increase his revenue. As he put it, having his daughter as the local beauty queen would really add some class to Big Bob's Beepers."

Arnold could see how despondent she was about this and desperately wished he was there to hug her now. "So, he won't pay for your college unless you do the pageant?" She nodded in affirmation.

"It's not all bad," Helga started. Arnold gave her a look that told her he knew she was lying. "Okay okay," she admitted. "It's ridiculous! All of these girls in it with me are super shallow and I have to wear a dress and the interview questions are really boring! Plus, all the girls think I'm too abrasive and hate the fact that I'm not taking the competition seriously enough." She snorted derisively and grinned at the camera.

"I'm glad you're being yourself," Arnold proudly said while beaming.

"Heh, yea. Get this. They had us submit interview questions several practices ago and when they read mine which asked what their survival plan for a zombie apocalypse was, everyone gawked at me." She shrugged while rocking back in her chair. "I thought it was a perfectly legitimate question." Arnold laughed while nodding in agreement.

"Did you get a dress yet?" He asked once he had caught his breath.

Helga nodded with a small smile. "I actually kind of like it." She softly said. "It's a strapless, flowing dress in a beautiful shade of pink and reminds me of a simple Grecian dress."

"Can I see it?"

Helga shook her head. "It's at the pageant director's house. If you were here, you could see it when I wear it at the pageant. Heck, you could have escorted me during the evening wear part."

"You get an escort?"

"You can have an escort," Helga corrected. "They told us to invite a guy that is an important part of our life to be our escort. Seeing as how you're the only man that I'd want to walk with…"

"Oh," Arnold said while shifting his gaze to the floor. "Why not your dad?"

Helga rolled her eyes at this. "Yea, I really want the man who forced me to do this pageant to walk me around a stage while I attempt not to trip over my ridiculous high heels."

"You're walking by yourself then?"

"Why not? Helga G. Pataki is an independent woman. May as well continue shaking things up there while I can." She grinned mischievously at him while adjusting the pink ribbon in her hair.

"When's the pageant?" Arnold inquired.

"In two days, so this Friday."

After a few moments had passed where Arnold had appeared deep in thought, he broke the silence with, "Good luck then! I'm sure you'll be great regardless!"

"Honestly, I just want to get it over with at this point…and maybe keep the dress."

"Well, I gotta go," Arnold said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Already?! We haven't talked in a week, football head! Come on!"

"I really…uh…have to go help my mom with dinner." Helga raised her eyebrow suspiciously at this. "Yea mom! I'll be right there." Arnold shouted off screen. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Helga slumped down a little in her seat and sighed. "All right, fine."

"I love you," Arnold warmly said with a small smile.

A tiny smile formed on Helga's lips as she replied, "I love you, too." The video then cut out after this and Helga was left alone in her room with the only light coming from the computer. "I miss you," she murmured as she hugged herself.

It wasn't long before the day of the pageant arrived. Helga had everything laid out on her bed and was ready to go when a familiar ringing made her leap at her computer. She hit the accept button and nearly fell back in surprise. "Miles?! Stella?!"

"Hello!" they greeted back while waving. "We just wanted to wish you luck before you go!" Stella said with a grin as Miles put his arm around her.

"We know you'll do great, kid," Miles added smoothly.

Helga let out a nervous laugh. "Haaa yea, right."

"Oh honey, Arnold told us this isn't something you want to do! Regardless of everything though, you are a beautiful and amazing woman that we are proud to have in our lives." Tears welled up in Helga's eyes at Stella's compliment with Miles nodding right along in agreement. She still hadn't gotten used to the kindness of Arnold's family and she wasn't sure if she ever would. "Thanks," she murmured. "It really means a lot to me."

"Now get out there and show those pansies what a real woman is!" Miles exclaimed exuberantly.

"I will! Is Arnold there? I wanted to at least show him my dress before I go."

Stella looked over at Miles with an uncertain expression. Miles cleared his throat before saying, "He's, uh, out in the village playing with the kids. They made him promise he would come out and play with them today, and you know Arnold."

"Yea, yea I do." Helga softly smiled at the thought of Arnold running around with the kids and making their world a brighter place. "I have to go now, but thanks again for the support!"

"Anytime dear! We'll talk to you again soon, okay?" Helga nodded then closed her laptop shut, grabbed her pageant outfits and makeup, and dashed out the door as Bob yelled for her to hurry up.

"Well, this is it," Bob stated proudly with his hands on his hips while Miriam took a long sip from her traveler's mug. "The night you become a beauty queen and I make a boatload of money." Helga groaned in exasperation.

"Let's just get this over with." She grumbled before starting to make her way up the stairs towards the Hillwood Performing Arts Center, however she was abruptly stopped by Bob's strong grip upon her arm.

"Remember to smile," Bob sternly reminded her. Helga sighed and nodded. Sensing his daughter's unhappiness, Bob placed both his hands upon her shoulders and softened his expression. "Look, this uh, isn't easy for me to say, but I want you to know that whatever happens tonight that I'm, well, I'm proud of you, Helga."

Helga perked up at the realization that he had gotten her name right for once, meaning that he really meant what he had just said to her. "Thanks, dad," she said with a smile. "Really." Bob gave her shoulders a squeeze as Miriam managed to give her a small nod. Whether it was in agreement with Bob or simply from too much alcohol, Helga couldn't discern.

"Now get in there!" he commanded with a gentle shove to get her moving again. Helga ran up the stairs, giving them a small wave before she disappeared into the building.

A flurry of activity was going on when she arrived backstage in the dressing area. "Oh good, you're here!" a familiar high pitched voice said.

"Phoebe!" Helga exclaimed as she dropped her things and scooped up her best friend in a tight hug. "Man am I glad to see you here in this craziness!" Phoebe giggled and hugged her back. "What are you doing here anyways?" Helga asked while releasing her from her grasp.

"Stage managing," Phoebe simply stated, pointing at her headset. "I'm in charge of everything that goes on back here tonight."

"That's pretty boss!"

"You know it! Now get ready, opening number's in ten minutes! Move move move!" Helga instantly did as she was told, knowing that it was unwise to not follow Phoebe's words when she was in her element like this. Quickly Helga moved to an unoccupied corner of the room and hung her outfits on a wall hook. She was already in her opening number eighties inspired outfit, complete with an off shoulder maroon colored sweater and neon green leg warmers. While pulling her hair into a side ponytail, Helga felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around she found herself face to face with one girl she wasn't too eager on seeing much of.

"Lila," she flatly said.

"Oh, Helga! I'm ever so delighted that we're participating in this together!" Lila brightly stated. A snort escaped Helga as she finished putting her hair up. Lila's face fell a little. "Good luck then," she quietly said before turning to go line up with the other girls.

Helga sighed and silently scolded herself for being abrasive to Lila. There was no reason for it, yet it had been one habit that was proving hard to break. Once she had lined up behind Lila, she quietly said, "Good luck to you, too." Lila faced Helga and beamed, glad to be acknowledged positively by her.

The opening number consisting of a ridiculous dance routine set to a song from _Flashdance_ and the mind numbing interview question on how she would improve the local community passed in a blur for Helga. She didn't do too badly when it came to the talent portion. In fact she only flubbed on two notes in her piano sonata. The moment had come for the evening wear portion and all the girls were in a tizzy backstage as they rapidly got ready.

Helga leaned forward as she awkwardly applied a coat of creamy red lipstick. Before she knew it, the top of her dress had slid down revealing a little too much for comfort. "Oh criminy," she grumbled as she dropped the lipstick and pulled her gown up.

"Here," Lila said as she rushed over, looking radiant in an emerald green chiffon gown with a sweet heart neckline. "Let me help."

"How can _you_ possibly help?" Helga asked sardonically.

"With this!" Next thing Helga knew, Lila was flipping the top of her gown over and putting thin pieces of what appeared to be double sided tape in several places. "There," she said as she rolled the gown back up and pressed on the areas she had placed the tape at. "Shouldn't fall down any more."

"What the heck is that stuff?!"

"Boob tape," Lila said in a matter of fact tone.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Helga stared at Lila for a second then looked back down at her dress. She shifted around a bit to test it out, and upon seeing that her dress had remained in its same position, was satisfied.

"I guess it'll do," she said wryly with a grin.

"You're welcome," Lila replied. "We better get to our positions! Music's starting to kick up again!" Helga followed Lila out of the dressing room and to the stage wings on the left hand side of the stage. The girls whispered amongst themselves excitedly until Phoebe came over and raptly told them all to zip it before she whapped them on the head with her clipboard. The thought of this made Helga cover up a chuckle so her best friend wouldn't hear.

A grandiose instrumental cover of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" emanated from the theater's speakers causing Helga to gag a little. "Of course they would pick the cheesiest song imaginable," she thought to herself with a smirk. Shortly after the music started to play, the first girl in the line gracefully glided out on to the stage and was joined by her father. The two linked arms and walked to the front of the stage, where they shared a hug, before her father headed back stage again and she walked a loop around the stage showing off her beautiful deep purple dress complete with silk shawl. Once she had returned back to the other girls, the next proceeded on to the stage. This continued as the line got progressively shorter and shorter, making Helga grow a little nervous. She was definitely the only contestant walking out by herself and she didn't think that it would make her this queasy. Her palms began to sweat and she was certain that goosebumps were beginning to creep up on her skin.

"Are you all right?" Lila asked, noticing Helga's anxiety.

"Yea, 'course I am! Nothing knocks me down, heh!" She replied in a shaky voice. Lila gave her a sympathetic look, then took her hand in her's and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You'll do fine, Helga," she said sincerely Helga gave her a small smile of gratitude before Lila twirled back to face the stage and glide out to greet Stinky, her escort. Upon Lila's departure, Helga had felt a slight tug on her dress. She turned and faced Phoebe who gave her an encouraging smile.

"Are you ready?" Phoebe whispered.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Helga murmured.

"I'm so excited for you, Helga!" the small Asian nearly shouted, taking Helga aback.

"Yeesh, Pheebs, it's just a pageant. Nothing too crazy here, well kind of." Phoebe giggled then ran off to check on the other participants. Silently Helga pondered the odd behavior of her friend when she was interrupted by Lila's return.

"You're next!" Lila sweetly said. Standing straight up and attempting to squelch any morose feelings, Helga plastered a big smile on her face and turned around while looking down at her dress one last time to ensure it was up. Upon gazing back up, her bright blue eyes locked with a pair of familiar emerald green ones. Her breath caught in her throat and she blinked rapidly several times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Sure enough there was the boy with the unruly blonde hair and heavenly half smile who made her feel like she could do anything in the world. Her fake smile shifted into a genuine one as the rest of the world seemed to fall away, leaving only her floating towards him in a haze of pure joy.

"Hey, Helga."

"Hey, Arnold." He offered up his arm to her which she gladly took in her's.

"You look amazing, my fair señorita," he whispered seductively in her ear, causing her to blush as they began to head towards the end of the stage. Nothing else mattered to Helga anymore now that Arnold was there with her. She felt incredulously happy that she didn't notice her dress catch underneath her heel. Abruptly she fell forward and was expertly caught by Arnold mere centimeters from the ground.

She let out a nervous laugh while the audience, who had gasped upon seeing her go down, applauded Arnold's good timing. "Nice catch, football head," she dryly observed with a wry smile.

Arnold said nothing, but rather leaned down and kissed her gently while slowly lifting her back up. Her eyes fluttered open as they broke apart and she let out a lovesick sigh. "Now that," she breathed. "That I did miss."

Arnold smiled at her before murmuring, "Now, show them what Helga G. Pataki is all about." She smirked at him then, holding her head up high, proceeded to do a lap around the stage as her gown flowed about her. Her pace was a little faster than what the pageant directors had wanted, but she couldn't wait to be back in the arms of her beloved.

Once she was out of sight of the audience, she kicked her heels off and ran behind the stage to the other side. She let out a shriek of excitement upon seeing Arnold again and leapt into his arms. He squeezed her tightly and lifted her off the ground, twirling around with her several times before setting her back on the ground. "I can't believe you came all this way!" Helga squealed.

"I couldn't let you do this by yourself knowing how much you want to," Arnold simply stated with a grin. "Besides, I really did miss you. Like crazy! I think I was starting to drive my parents nuts about it actually." The two of them shared a laugh then headed outside of the building into the crisp night air. "You guys did a really good job of keeping it under wraps, I have to admit. Though now that I think about it, your parents did look a little nervous when I spoke with them earlier."

"Yea, they're not the best at keeping secrets," Arnold chuckled. The two stood out in the night with their arms wrapped around each other's waist and gazed up at the moon. "How do you think you did?"

"Doesn't matter, you're here. That's all I care about right now." She leaned into him and kissed him softly. The rest of the night passed in a haze of kisses and hugs with Helga making one last appearance on the stage with her fellow contestants to hear the results. Unsurprisingly, she didn't win, however she applauded the loudest when Lila was crowned Miss Hillwood and even hugged her once they had returned back stage.

After returning into her regular clothing consisting of jeans and white and pink shirt, she looked into the mirror and saw Arnold standing in the doorway holding a bouquet of pink roses. "You really shouldn't have," she said with a grin as she took the bouquet and sniffed them.

"You may not be a queen to them, but you're a queen to me, Helga," Arnold said before grabbing her things and walking with her to his car. "Slausen's?"

"You read my mind!" Helga exclaimed as she slid into the passenger seat. Arnold closed her door and hopped into the driver's seat, turning the key in the ignition. The car then took off down the street and disappeared into the night, the two reunited lovers laughing and talking as though there was no tomorrow.

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this fluffy one shot. Most of the pageant stuff is based on my own pageant experience, except I did it out of my own accord. I definitely did not take it seriously and the interview question is one I submitted with the same reaction occurring. And yes, boob tape does exist. Mhm. **


End file.
